Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: Damn thieves
F-Body Road Racing and Autocross Forums > Community > General Discussion
trackbird
My wife's Honda was totaled Tuesday of last week. So I've been driving the Camaro daily and she's been taking my truck to work while we are car shopping. This morning she left, opened the garage door and yelled for me. The tone of her voice told me it wasn't good. I ran outside and we found my truck in my driveway on blocks with all the wheels and lug nuts missing. All of them. Apparently they needed them for their truck. I had to take her up to borrow her mom's Accord and I spent the morning chasing down parts. I'll have the new wheels tomorrow and tires as well. $3386 is the total for wheels, lug nuts, tire pressure monitor valves, and replacement tires for the ones I bought in November. Fucking awesome.
KCG
Holy crap! I hate thieves. Looks like your neighbors are close too. Talk to any of them yet?
rocky
Damn it man! that's some b.s
trackbird
QUOTE (KCG @ May 24 2017, 12:17 PM) *
Holy crap! I hate thieves. Looks like your neighbors are close too. Talk to any of them yet?


Neighbor (behind me) said his dog went nuts about 3 am and there was a red vehicle out front (in front of his house, not on my street). But he didn't see anything more than that. They had to bring a jack, 4 blocks, take the lug nuts and roll the tires away. I figure it was 3-4 guys. This wasn't a one man show...I don't think it could have been. They didn't drop a single lug nut.
Pranav
Yep, tahoes/silverados are notorious for going full hovercraft.

Here in the Houston area it got bad for a while. I had a buddy staying in an apartment in Dallas for a while during a relocation and had the wheels stolen off his truck TWICE in two weeks.

Does your alarm have the tilt sensor option?
BumpaD_Z28
sad.gif ... OH man I would go BALLISTIC (pun intended) !
KCG
QUOTE (trackbird @ May 24 2017, 01:49 PM) *
QUOTE (KCG @ May 24 2017, 12:17 PM) *
Holy crap! I hate thieves. Looks like your neighbors are close too. Talk to any of them yet?


Neighbor (behind me) said his dog went nuts about 3 am and there was a red vehicle out front (in front of his house, not on my street). But he didn't see anything more than that. They had to bring a jack, 4 blocks, take the lug nuts and roll the tires away. I figure it was 3-4 guys. This wasn't a one man show...I don't think it could have been. They didn't drop a single lug nut.


I'm sure you've probably walked that path already, but you never know if they may have dropped something...
Wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone has front or rear porch video cams. Or does any of your neighbors come home or go to work that time of morning....maybe they have a dash cam.
GCrites80s
Damn. I didn't know people wanted those wheels. Usually stock wheels are safe, or at least that's what I thought.
trackbird
QUOTE (Pranav @ May 24 2017, 02:20 PM) *
Does your alarm have the tilt sensor option?


I'll have to check if the dealer can add it. I don't believe it does at this time...and if it does, it sucks. wink.gif

QUOTE (KCG @ May 24 2017, 02:57 PM) *
I'm sure you've probably walked that path already, but you never know if they may have dropped something...
Wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone has front or rear porch video cams. Or does any of your neighbors come home or go to work that time of morning....maybe they have a dash cam.


I'll take a walk and see if I see any lug nuts, maybe it would have prints on it (not likely).


QUOTE (GCrites80s @ May 24 2017, 02:59 PM) *
Damn. I didn't know people wanted those wheels. Usually stock wheels are safe, or at least that's what I thought.


I put new AT tires on them in November (not the OEM), that might have "helped", not sure.
CrashTestDummy
Etch your VIN in the replacement set. Had a friend who had a truck towed. The reason was dubious, and the cops said they were trying to find a way to prosecute the towing co. When he got his truck back, the Alcoas he had were gone, yet the tow truck in the yard had a nice set of Alcoas on it. The cops said there was nothing they could do unless he could verify his VIN was on those wheels. Even if the spot he could verify was sanded down, that would help their case. Unfortunately, he hadn't done that.... then.

Everyone, etch the VIN in your wheels. Even if you do it so that it makes the wheel look like crap, do it!

And a 220v capacitor connected to the vehicle when it's in your driveway can't hurt (you) either. Sure, people frown upon it but... dead perps tell no tales. :-)
slowTA
Were they factory upgraded wheels or the base aluminum? I had a theory that they didn't need a jack, just pick the right size cinder block and let the air out of the tires! But your pictures prove that wrong for the front anyway.
trackbird
QUOTE (slowTA @ May 24 2017, 11:02 PM) *
Were they factory upgraded wheels or the base aluminum? I had a theory that they didn't need a jack, just pick the right size cinder block and let the air out of the tires! But your pictures prove that wrong for the front anyway.


That's an interesting idea. I think they would have needed a jack in this case, but I'm not totally sure.


That's a pic when I had the tires put on (a friend was shopping for tires for his Jeep and they were also in the truck tire discussion thread on CC.com). It's just the 18" aluminum wheels and all the OEM lug nuts. Tires were Goodyear Wrangler Adventure AT (with Kevlar reinforcement). I had a flat tire on the OEM tires at 16k miles and the hole was in the sidewall, so I put 4 tires on it. So maybe they wanted the wheels and better tires? Maybe they were just stealing anything they could get? I can't decide if I'll see them on an '80's or '90's Silverado in town sometime soon...or if they took them for drug money. Seems like a pretty well planned event for druggies. The way they set the truck on blocks, these guys knew something about cars (they did get one side on a brake rotor, but the drivers side is sitting on the "pin" that sticks out of the bottom of the balljoint and the back axle is on the shock mounts. They were pretty careful as they lowered it, almost like car guys who felt bad (but figured "He's insured, so he won't be hurt" or "He has a nice truck, he can afford it"...not sure which).

I told the officer, they are programmed to my tire pressure monitoring system. If they were to find them and we put them near my truck, I should get tire pressure readings. That would be the only way to ID them....until I reprogram the sensors. I may wait a while. I'd like the cops to find them and this to provide evidence to convict (discrediting their "A friend gave them to me" story, or whatever they come up with). I'll give it a few weeks before I reset the TPMS sensors.

Wow, that picture really makes me nostalgic for a time when my truck had wheels. This was long before it was converted to glorified yard art. Ah, the good old days.
dojob
Damn shame about your wheels. That odd they went after the dime-a-dozen 18'' wheels. I thought you had factory 22" wheels perhaps.

Insurance is covering your $3300 bill correct? Minus your deductable
trackbird
QUOTE (dojob @ May 25 2017, 07:25 AM) *
Damn shame about your wheels. That odd they went after the dime-a-dozen 18'' wheels. I thought you had factory 22" wheels perhaps.

Insurance is covering your $3300 bill correct? Minus your deductible


Yea, I didn't want the 20" wheels. I knew I'd be in some mud and the thinner tires can allow the wheel faces to get scratched as they churn through mud. The 18" has more protection for the wheels and makes a wider hole that the wheel fits down into without damage. Heck, the wheels usually don't get dirty (unless something splashes up onto them). I also didn't think they would be a "target".

Yes, insurance is reimbursing me. And I don't have a deductible. wink.gif

I wasn't sure what would cover it or what the deductible would be when it happened (Home owners insurance? etc). But I knew I needed to order some wheels. It did fall under comprehensive. Ultimately I'll be fine, I'm just pissed. It really disrupted my schedule, made us both late for work, caused me to spend the morning chasing parts and then work late to make it up (when I should have been on OT), etc. Right now the truck is still on blocks in my driveway (waiting on parts, and my new HD camera system to arrive). And, I hate thieving assholes. wink.gif

My wife said "I haven't had to borrow my mom's car since I was a teenager". We're both irritated that we had to borrow it now. We had 3 cars....
dojob
Yea, I was like $3300. HOLY HELL! But if insurance is paying for it with no deductible... so be it. We bought my dad those exact wheels with tires (as take offs) when he bought his new 2014....$1200 from dealer... everything, lugs, center caps, tpms.

Glad they didn't damage the truck. I've seen some silly collateral damage from thieves
trackbird
QUOTE (dojob @ May 25 2017, 08:22 AM) *
Yea, I was like $3300. HOLY HELL! But if insurance is paying for it with no deductible... so be it. We bought my dad those exact wheels with tires (as take offs) when he bought his new 2014....$1200 from dealer... everything, lugs, center caps, tpms.

Glad they didn't damage the truck. I've seen some silly collateral damage from thieves


He sold me the wheels and parts at wholesale. And the tires are as cheap as they can sell them to me (far more than I paid in November). I wasn't sure who was paying. Just that I needed them, I'd file the paperwork and sort that out later.

I'm glad they didn't manage to scratch it all up and hit the fenders with a jack, etc. That part was nice.


My neighbor said the car they saw out front had 3 guys and they got out and very quietly clicked their doors closed. They weren't so quiet when they left. He said the car was too small for tires. I wonder if they stacked them behind my truck and called friends to come pick them up. Maybe these guys are pulling them off and having a second crew run by and grab them? I'm not sure how they did it from the information I have, but they managed to do it "clean".
trackbird
And we forgot $148 in center caps (wholesale, they were over $50 each retail). They are on order.
mitchntx
These trucks look awesome slammed into the weeds.

Maybe stake that feral cat in the front lawn. That'll deter'em ...
trackbird
QUOTE (mitchntx @ May 30 2017, 01:57 PM) *
These trucks look awesome slammed into the weeds.

Maybe stake that feral cat in the front lawn. That'll deter'em ...


They told me I needed a "block kit" to lower the rear. I wasn't sure what to do with the front, so we just used the same blocks. Oddly, I couldn't find these in the Belltech catalog. wink.gif

I meant to text you. You have outlived the evil kitty. Midnight was sick a month or two ago and my ex sent me a message to say that he had left this planet behind. I'm sure he's up chasing Texans in kitty heaven as we speak. wink.gif
mitchntx
I'm sorry to hear that.

I'm sure Midnight was a great cat ... just not to me. wink.gif
trackbird
QUOTE (mitchntx @ May 30 2017, 02:49 PM) *
I'm sorry to hear that.

I'm sure Midnight was a great cat ... just not to me. wink.gif


He was weird (like me?), only liked a couple people at a time. When I took him to my ex, he was just pissed at her and I could carry him around. The next time I saw him, he tried to kill me and he was playing guard dog (cat?) protecting her. He latched onto 1-2 people and they were "his". That one was strange. At least he sent you a card. He felt bad....
mitchntx
LOL

Still have that card. In a box somewhere ...
mitchntx
Click to view attachment
GCrites80s
How long is it going to take for the wheels and tires to come in? Or more importantly the check from the insurance company? Going with the same ones you had before but with some wheel locks?
trackbird
Ha. I'm amazed you still have it! That's pretty cool.
mitchntx
QUOTE (trackbird @ May 30 2017, 09:01 PM) *
Ha. I'm amazed you still have it! That's pretty cool.


At my age, I'm amazed I remembered
trackbird
QUOTE (GCrites80s @ May 30 2017, 09:57 PM) *
How long is it going to take for the wheels and tires to come in? Or more importantly the check from the insurance company? Going with the same ones you had before but with some wheel locks?


I ordered the wheels at 7:30 am when the dealer opened (they only had two) and paid for them as well as lug nuts, locks (for the good they actually do) and tire pressure monitors. Checked with Goodyear and they had the tires. Went to my insurance company and gave them all the documentation and went home to call the police (they won't come out unless it's over $3k that was stolen...now I could prove it was). I picked up the wheels at 11am the next morning and dropped them at the tire shop. Grabbed them at 4pm and put them back on the truck. So I had wheels on it the day after they were stolen. My insurance company direct deposited the money for all of it into my account the day after it happened (I had the cash before I picked up the wheels...though I had already paid for them).

I gave the dealer the VIN and ordered the same wheels (I actually like those wheels) and the exact tires I had. I did this for a few reasons. One was I didn't want the insurance company saying "you took our money and came out ahead" (or cheated them in any way). I gave them receipts and they were for the actual parts installed...I put the truck back exactly as it was. I purchased new AT tires in November, they had 5k miles on them. I purchased the exact same tires this time and put them back on the truck. It was all fixed in about 34 hours (and I had cameras up before that).
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
Invision Power Board © 2001-2024 Invision Power Services, Inc.